Manchester United’s late, breathless winner against Fulham felt like a jolt of electricity through Old Trafford — the kind of moment that makes supporters believe in the club’s DNA again. Michael Carrick’s grin after the final whistle and his simple verdict — “The best feeling” — captured the emotion of a night when drama returned to the Stretford End and a season’s narrative shifted in a single stoppage-time strike from Benjamin Šeško.
A Moment That Reawakens a Club
There’s theatre in last-gasp victories, and United served it up in spades. Šeško takes the headlines for the finish, but the wider picture is harder to ignore: three games into Carrick’s second spell and United are suddenly on a roll. That late winner didn’t just win three points — it invited fans to look back and ask whether Ruben Amorim’s 14 months at the helm were, in truth, a detour rather than progress.
Numbers That Sting
The facts are stark. Carrick has steered United to three straight Premier League wins in just his third game back; Amorim managed that feat only once in 36 matches. United climbed to fourth in the table — a position Amorim never reached at the end of a match round — and Carrick’s early league record now places him among the club’s most successful short-term custodians. By contrast, Amorim’s Premier League return of 1.23 points per game is the lowest for a United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
Tactics, Personnel and the Mainoo Revival
One of the clearest shifts has been tactical. The return to a back four has not cured every defensive worry, but it has unlocked space and opportunity — most notably for Kobbie Mainoo. Once sidelined under Amorim and forced into competition with Bruno Fernandes, Mainoo started and flourished against Fulham. Calm in possession, industrious without it, he provided the kind of youthful assurance Carrick praised: “He’s not fazed… he comes up with moments of quality.”
That tactical reset and the reintroduction of players like Mainoo underline a broader point: some of Amorim’s personnel choices and formations stifled development. Under Carrick, those same players are finding rhythm and confidence.
The Bilbao Hangover and the Cost of Mistakes
Memories of last season’s Europa League final in Bilbao still sting. Amorim’s failure to devise a winning plan against Tottenham in that decisive match cost United dearly — not just in prestige but in revenue and momentum. The club’s decision to stick with him after that defeat, and again after a limp draw with Leeds, now looks increasingly questionable as Carrick’s short-term impact becomes clearer.
What Comes Next
United’s immediate test is Tottenham, a rematch that will probe whether Carrick’s early surge is sustainable. In three games he has nudged United back into Champions League contention and built a cushion over the chasing pack. Debate will rage over whether Carrick should be handed the job permanently, but the more pressing question for the club’s hierarchy is simpler: should Amorim ever have been appointed?
As one long-time observer put it bluntly months ago: “Apart from his press conferences, what is he actually any good at?” After Fulham, that line will echo louder in corridors at Carrington.
